2004 Festive Fifty
Overview *Peel's death on October 25 2004 did not spell the end of the Festive Fifty chart. Radio 1 organised two more charts before handing over the reins to Dandelion Radio. The broadcast version for this year was presented by Rob Da Bank, who had continued to helm the Peel Show using the pre-prepared running orders and commissioned or recorded sessions for the remainder of the year. It is included in the official canon of the Festive Fifty because nearly all the entries had been played by Peel during the year, and thus JP can be said to have had an influence over its shaping, even though he was not around to present it. The dates when JP first played the tracks in question appear after the title in the chart below. *Despite the misgivings of some who felt there shouldn't have been a chart at all, and rumours and wind-ups (specifically, that early votes had been received for Joss Stone and Keane, and an Internet campaign to get Morrissey to number one), the resultant chart "perhaps more than any previous charts, fully reflected the diversity of the Peel programme" (Whitby, M., The Festive Fifty, Nevin Publishing, 2005, p. 65). On this note, the Fall's official website tried, and failed, to get 'Blindness' voted in at number one. *Top scoring acts of the year were Bloc Party and ballboy (one of these entries being a duet with Laura Cantrell recorded at the previous year's Peel Acres Christmas party and subsequently released as a b-side), with three entries apiece. The correct identification of the Laurie Anderson track means that there was a gap of 22 years between entries for this song, a feat only beaten by Captain Beefheart's 'Big Eyed Beans From Venus', which made the inaugural chart in 1976 and again in the 2000 All-Time, a gap of 24 years (and coincidentally, in each case in two different versions). Fittingly, the number one spot went to a new version of the Fall track which made number 2 in the previous year. Shows *28 December 2004 (Rob Da Bank) (#50-#36) *29 December 2004 (Rob Da Bank) (#35-#21) *30 December 2004 (Rob Da Bank) (#20-#01) The Festive Fifty Of 2004 * 50: Vaults, 'No Sleep No Need' (27 January 2004) *'49': ballboy, 'I Don't Have Time To Stand Here With You Fighting About The Size Of My Dick' *'48': Ella Guru, 'Park Lake Speakers' (18 August 2004) *'47': Magic Band, 'Electricity' (Peel Session) (07 July 2004) *'46': Mountain Goats, 'Your Belgian Things' (05 February 2004) *'45': Aphrodisiacs, 'If U Want Me' (03 August 2004) *'44': Bloc Party, 'Little Thoughts' (08 June 2004) *'43': Kentucky AFC, 'Be Nesa' (14 September 2004) *'42': Plasticman, 'Cha' (29 July 2004) *'41': Calvin Party, 'Northern Song' (27 April 2004) *'40': Cornershop presents Bubbley Kaur, 'Topknot' (23 June 2004) *'39': Decoration, 'Joy Adamson' (Peel Session) (13 April 2004) *'38': Melys, 'Eyeliner' (22 January 2004) *'37': Tunng, 'Tale From Black' (22 June 2004) *'36': Wedding Present, 'Interstate 5' *'35': Jon E. Cash, 'International' (08 September 2004) *'34': Magic Band, 'Big Eyed Beans From Venus' (Peel Session) (07 July 2004) *'33': Shitmat, 'There's No Business Like Propa' Rungleclotted Mashup Bizznizz' *'32': Delgados, 'I Fought The Angels' (31 August 2004) *'31': Art Brut, 'Formed A Band' (11 February 2004) *'30': Black Keys, 'Girl Is On My Mind' *'29': Digital Mystikz, 'B' *'28': Laurie Anderson, 'O Superman-Henry Cullen Remix' Mark Whitby has corrected the error perpetrated by Rob Da Bank and every listing of this chart since. X Booty is the label, not the artist. (18 May 2004) *'27': Listen With Sarah, 'Animal Hop' (25 August 2004) *'26': McLusky, 'That Man Will Not Hang' (24 March 2004) *'25': 65daysofstatic, 'Retreat! Retreat!' *'24': Decoration, 'I Tried It, I Liked It, I Loved It' (20 July 2004) *'23': PJ Harvey, 'Shame' (19 May 2004) *'22': Black Keys, '10 PM Automatic' (30 June 2004) *'21': ballboy, 'The Art Of Kissing' (07 October 2004) *'20': Bloc Party, 'Banquet' (08 June 2004) *'19': DJ Distance, 'Ritual' (22 September 2004) *'18': Jawbone, 'Jackrabbit' (28 January 2004) *'17': Laura Cantrell and ballboy, 'I Lost You But I Found Country Music' (Peel Session) (23 December 2003) *'16': PJ Harvey, 'The Letter' (27 April 2004) *'15': Aereogramme, 'The Unravelling' *'14': Cinerama, 'It's Not You, It's Me' (22 June 2004) *'13': Martyn Hare, 'Do Not Underestimate' *'12': Texas Radio Band, 'Chwareon Bwtleg Pep Le Pew' *'11': Bloc Party, 'Helicopter' (23 September 2004) *'10': Jawbone, 'Hi-De-Hi' (27 January 2004) *'09': Graham Coxon, 'Freakin' Out' (03 February 2004) *'08': Half Man Half Biscuit, 'Joy Division Oven Gloves' (Peel Session) *'07': Sons And Daughters, 'Johnny Cash' (02 September 2004) *'06': Delgados, 'Everybody Come Down' (27 July 2004) *'05': Sluts Of Trust, 'Leave You Wanting More' (13 April 2004) *'04': Aereogramme, 'Dreams And Bridges' (06 October 2004) *'03': Caroline Martin, 'The Singer' (17 February 2004) *'02': Bearsuit, 'Chargr' *'01': Fall, 'Theme From Sparta FC #2' (12 May 2004) Availability *The chart rundowns alone are available on John Peel Torrent Compilation 1 of 17 (Festive Fifties 1992-2004 Plus Others). References *Keeping it Peel - full chart *John Peel Festive 50 - The Fall take top spot ;Footnotes Category:Festive Fifty Category:2004